NO - Jenny McWhirter, head of education and prevention, DrugScope
Although cannabis does appear to be more harmful to young people than to adults, we should treat it as a health issue and not a criminal justice one. Making it class B for under-18s would imply that cannabis is as harmful as amphetamine - and it is also likely to criminalise more young people.
YES - Andrew Neal, founder, Substance Misuse Training, and associate, Galahad SMS
Cannabis does psychological damage to young people. Detox nurses will tell you cannabis is the worst drug because it is common and is what we call a "gateway drug". A lot of drug dependants with serious addictions started by taking cannabis. The public seems to view cannabis as a "soft drug", especially after it was classified as class C. The real damage is paranoia and psychotic behaviour, which influences family, life decisions and education.
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